Saturday, January 14, 2012

how an editor

rewrites the article you care about.

I wrote an article that I felt proud of until I had to give an editor a high five even though I hated what he did to it. It tells the right story but fails to find the right words. Folks want to sound smart and want to tell a story and they want to be correct. And I understand those things. But I'll say it again . . . just because you work on an issue, it doesn't mean you know how to connect to folks in a way that makes them care about the same thing that you care about.

I'm not the best writer. Or the best speller. Or the best calculator operator. Or person that spells it all out in the same way that some reporter that uses the same specialized vocabulary does in their column everyday. I'm not polished. In almost anything that I do,  but that doesn't mean I don't know how to connect with folks. It just means I'm not a wonk, for the lack of better words, and I don't talk like a executive director or a senior blah blah of something. I'm never going to be so. And though I'm proud of that article, I really am proud of it, but if you know me, you know that article sounds nothing like me. I'm bored reading it. I can barely read it.

They changed everything that makes my writing unique to add some ten dollar words and not sound like I'm come from the bayou, which is my battle. It's so common that I have to talk people into publishing what I write for them. Sometimes I just give up because the battle is to annoying. (sighhhhhh) If you take out the big words and double compounded sentences, you'll see me in there somewhere. And guess the real issue is that folks are inspired. Or that folks are scared. Or that folks question what they are hearing.

Listen up.. . . the BP oil disaster. Not over. So fucking stay tuned.

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